Fox attacks two people in southern Chapel Hill; dead fox tested for rabies

Thursday

Mar 21, 2013 at 12:01 AMMar 21, 2013 at 10:16 AM

Beth Velliquette / The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C. (MCT)

CHAPEL HILL - A fox believed to be rabid had people on high alert Tuesday and Wednesday after it attacked two people in southern Chapel Hill.

The first attack occurred Tuesday about noon in the Dogwood Acres neighborhood.

"It involved a person who was up on some kind of ladder pruning bushes and hedges," said Bob Marotto, director of Orange County Animal Services. "The fox came right at him and scaled up the lower part of the ladder and attacked and bit him."

The victim went to the hospital to be treated, Marotto said.

Animal Services officers and a deputy started searching throughout Dogwood Acres for the fox. They went door to door handing out fliers warning people to be on the lookout for the fox and to keep pets and children inside.

They didn't find the fox Tuesday afternoon, but about 8 p.m. they were alerted to another attack, this one in Southern Village, which abuts Dogwood Acres.

"The information says the woman was out and the fox came right at her and attacked and bit her," Marotto said.

The woman was bitten on the hands and arms and when she tried to push it away, it came back at her, Marotto said.

The woman went straight to the hospital to be treated.

Animal services officers believed the fox was rabid because of its behavior, he said. The signs of what's called the "furious form" of the disease are that an animal is excited, agitated and aggressive, Marotto said.

Normally, foxes try to stay away from people, he said.

Wednesday morning, as the search for the fox continued, a person in Southern Village called to report that a fox was dead in his yard.

The man was driving his vehicle when the fox ran out of the bushes.

"It sounds like it was attacking the tires of car and he ran over it," Marotto said.

The dead fox was impounded, photographed and sent to a state laboratory to be tested for rabies. The results of the test are expected in a day or two.

"It certainly seems very likely that this is the fox, but it's impossible to say with certainty so we encourage people to be very careful," Marotto said.

If anyone sees an animal acting strangely or aggressively, call Animal Services at 919-942-7387, ext. 1. If it is after hours, call 911 and ask that the on-call Animal Control Officer be paged.

Be sure that pets' vaccines are up to date because if a rabid animal makes contact with an unvaccinated dog or cat, the pet must be quarantined at the owner's expense for six months or be destroyed.